1648: The World of Miseries & Misfortunes

Horse
and Rider
The safety of a cavalier often depends on the prompt obedience of his horse.
—Athos to Raoul in Twenty Years After

Travel
The lieu or league is the measure for distance traveled. A league
consists of 10,000 pieds du roi, or 2.018 miles.
¶¶ A typical riding horse on a decent road or moving through
pasture-land can cover roughly 20 leagues in a day (about 2.5
leagues an hour).
¶¶ An animal can be pushed to cover 25 leagues from dawn to dusk
(a sustained pace of (31/8 leagues an hour), but at the cost of a
Constitution check. Failure requires the animal be rested for a
day. To continue riding without rest, you must pass a Rider test
and the animal suffers 1d4 points of damage.
¶¶ Pulling or carrying heavy loads reduces your rate of travel by half.
Post Horses
The roads and highways of France are dotted with post houses that
provide fresh horses for travelers in a hurry to reach their destination.
¶¶ If your horse requires rest, you can leave it at the post house
and rent another for 20s. Thus you may continue your journey
without delay.
¶¶ If your mount is dear to you, the hosteler will keep the animal
for you for a small fee until you return. The fee varies depending
on how important the horse is. Usually a few livres will cover it.

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At a Gallop
A horse can sprint short distances at incredible speed: one league in
just over two minutes.
¶¶ Achieving this blazing speed requires a successful Rider test at a
-2 penalty and that the horse be entirely unencumbered beyond
a rider and light equipment.
¶¶ After a sprint, a horse must rest. Failure to rest causes 2d3 points
of damage to the horse.
¶¶ Sprints can only been undertaken on dirt roads, grasslands,
rolling hills or similar. Mud, weather, rocks or underbrush all
prevent sprints.
Racing
Starting the same point (or near enough) and attempting to reach a
distant point before your opponent does is a race. To win a race:
¶¶ Roll your horse’s move ability.
¶¶ Test your Rider skill. If successful, add one to the move result. If
failed, subtract one.
¶¶ If applicable (in your horse’s region), test your horse’s Origin
skill. If successful add one to your move total.
¶¶ The horse and rider with the higher total wins.
¶¶ If tied, make opposed Constitution tests to see if one horse flags
before the end of the race. If that result is tied, the race is a tie.
Escape
You are mounted and being pursued by other riders. You wish to
escape. Here’s how:
¶¶ Make opposed Rider tests.
¶¶ Your horse can help with its Origin skill if you’re in its home
region.
¶¶ If the Rider result is tied, test each party’s move ability. The
higher result wins.
¶¶ If move test is also tied, make opposed Constitution checks for
the mounts.
¶¶ If this result is also tied, you cannot escape and must confront
your pursuers or evade them on foot.

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 1648: The World of Miseries & Misfortunes

Overtake
You wish to overtake another party on the road before they reach
their destination or before a certain amount of time has elapsed.
To overtake another party, test your Rider skill with the following
modifiers:
¶¶ Your quarry’s lead is: Short (-1), moderate (-2), long (-4).
¶¶ Roll Move: ±1 per point of difference. If your move total is higher,
you get a bonus. If your move total is lower, you get a penalty.
¶¶ Sprint: If you fail to overtake your quarry, you may force a reroll
by forcing your horse to sprint (requiring a separate Rider test as
per the At a Gallop rules).
¶¶ Note that if you are forced to sprint, your horse must rest a full
day or risk damage. Combat, travel or additional pursuit does
not count as rest.

Mounted Combat
Entering Combat
Urging a horse into combat requires a successful Rider skill test. This
test is typically taken as part of the movement phase of the round.
Failure indicates the horse shies or bolts, costing the rider their
action for the round.
¶¶ Your mount will help you with combat maneuvers using its
Combat skill.
Zones of Control
Mounted combatants can ignore zones of control for all foot soldiers
except those equipped with pikes or bayoneted muskets.
¶¶ The standard zone of control rules apply when fighting other
mounted troops.
Fighting from Horseback
¶¶ Shooting from stationary horseback is always a tough shot for all
firearms except the harquebus, pistol and mousqueton.

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¶¶ Shooting on the move with a harquebus, pistol or mousqueton is
a tough shot. Muskets and other firearms cannot be fired while
on the move.
¶¶ In melee, one may only use cudgels, sabers, cutlasses and rapiers
from horseback. All other weapons require you to dismount to
make use of them.
Mounting and Dismounting
Mounting a horse in combat requires your action for the round.
¶¶ Dismounting a horse in combat can be done without issue as
your action for the round.
¶¶ Or you can dismount as part of your movement with a
successful Riding skill test or a -4 Difficulty Dexterity test.
Failure results are up to the game master, of course.
¶¶ You may not move your mount and then dismount and take
your own movement on foot in the same round.
Target the Man or the Horse?
¶¶ A rider may take cover behind their mount, causing all shots
against them to be counted as tough shots.
¶¶ If the opponent’s roll to-hit falls within the margin between a
standard shot and a tough shot, the ball hits the mount. Roll for
damage to the horse.
¶¶ A shooter may directly target a mount instead of the rider. Such
volleys are typically standard shots.
¶¶ Riders receive +2 defense against melee attacks while mounted.
Thrown Rider
A rider thrown by their mount or who has their mount die under
them takes 1d4 points of damage from the fall. Save vs Chance to
reduce the damage by half (round down).

Overbear and Trample

A sufficiently goaded horse will knock down or trample a person in
its path.
You may test your Rider skill to urge a horse to knock down or
trample someone. Doing so costs your action in the round. Your
horse may not help with this test.

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 1648: The World of Miseries & Misfortunes

¶¶ Standing figures are knocked down and take 1d4 points of

damage plus Strength modifier. Save vs Chance for half damage.
¶¶ Sitting, prone or supine figures are trampled and take 2d4 points
of damage plus Strength modifier. Save vs Chance for half damage
A horse who fails its Sang Froid test during combat will bolt from
the melee, knocking down or trampling anyone its path.

Tack and Harness

In addition to a rider:
¶¶ If equipped with saddle bags, your horse may carry two satchels
and their contents.
¶¶ If equipped with a saddle, your horse can bear four carried items.
¶¶ If equipped with a harness, your horse may pull one team item at
the cost of -2 squares of movement.
You may forgo a rider for your horse and add a second set or item
from the above list: another set of saddle bags, four more carried
items or another team item. A second team item does incur a further
-1 move penalty, however.

Horse Creation
Abilities
Roll 3d4 and add 4 for your four governing abilities: Strength,
Wisdom, Dexterity and Constitution. You may modify the abilities
as per the standard rules (2-for-1, no reduction below 9).

Breed
Roll twice on the Equine Breed table. Apply the bonus to the horse’s
skills or abilities.
¶¶ If you roll Breton on the first roll, apply +2 to the second Breed
roll. If you roll Breton on the second roll, you can apply the +2
bonus to any one progeny of this horse.

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 3d6 Equine Breed Abilities
3-4 Breton +2 Breed roll
5 Bidet +1 Listen
6 Mecklenburger +2 Constitution
7 Percheron +2 carried items
8 Morvan +2 Wisdom
9 Boulounnais +1 Pull
10-12 Limousin +1 Loyalty
13 Norman +2 Strength
14 Navarrin +1 Traverse
15 Burgundy +1 Sang Froid
16-17 Andalusian +1 Move
18 Arabian +2 Dexterity
19-20 Angevin +1 Sang-Froid, +1 Combat

Horse Lifepaths
After rolling for your horse’s abilities and breed, choose a lifepath.
For each skill listed, increase the rating by one.

Pack Horse
¶¶ Starting Hit Points: 3d6
¶¶ Movement: 4 + 1d4 squares
¶¶ Skills: Pull, Loyalty
¶¶ Saves: Poison & Plague, Chance
Riding Horse
¶¶ Starting Hit Points: 3d4
¶¶ Movement: 5 + 1d4 squares
¶¶ Skills: Loyalty, Traverse, Origin
¶¶ Saves: Poison & Plague, Chance
War Horse
¶¶ Starting Hit Points: 3d6
¶¶ Movement: 4 + 1d6 squares
¶¶ Skills: Sang Froid, Combat
¶¶ Saves: Terror, Artillery

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 1648: The World of Miseries & Misfortunes

Courser
¶¶ Starting Hit Points: 4d4
¶¶ Movement: 6 + 1d6 squares
¶¶ Skills: Sang Froid, Traverse, Combat
¶¶ Saves: Terror, Artillery, Chance

Horse Mentalities
Origin and Loyalty mentalities begin at 0/6. Divide three points
between them to start. Your breed and lifepath may also increase
these ratings.
Origin describes where your horse was raised. Similar to the
Nationality skill, the Origin skill grants the horse knowledge of
its home region—how to get about, the best place to crop and
where to find a good apple.
Loyalty measures a horse’s relationship with its rider. A new rider
reduces a horse’s loyalty by one until they can establish a report.
Treating the horse with empathy and care increases Loyalty by
one. Test Loyalty when the horse has thrown its rider and bolted
or when the horse is given a chance at freedom. Does it come back?
Is it willing to help its companion?
If there’s any question about a horse’s desire to enter a bad situation,
the game master may test its Loyalty. If it passes, it will heed its rider.
If not, the horse may move down a better course of action.

Core Horse Skills

Core skills start rated at 1/6. Modify them according to their
governing abilities as well as your horse’s breed and lifepath.
Pull (Strength): The measured tread and steady pressure of pulling
a plow or carriage is a skill that a horse must learn. Use this skill to
move heavy loads efficiently without injuring the horse. A harness
is required, even a simple one, as your horse has no hands.

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Listen (Wisdom): Horses have keen hearing. This skill denotes
how attuned your horse is to their environment and the dangers
within.
Traverse (Dexterity): While horses are not sheep or goats, they
must travel across broken ground on occasion. Use this skill when
moving through rocky terrain or making leaps across creeks and
ravines.
Sang Froid (Constitution): Is your horse suited to the rigors of
adventure and battle? Sang Froid is tested to keep one’s nerves
in combat.
Combat (none): A horse must be specially trained in combat. Use
this skill if the horse must defend itself in the fray. The game
master may also use this skill to aid the rider when making
combat maneuvers on horseback. The horse Combat skill is rated
+1-5. It is not rolled. The modifier is added to its combat rolls or
its rider’s Riding skill test.

Horse Measures
Defense: Horses are large targets relative to humans. Defense is
based on Strength and Dexterity, but reduce defenses by two to
represent their large size and difficulty avoiding depredation of
foolish men.
Reputation: A horse who participates in great events earns
reputation along with its rider. A horse who sires or gives birth
to another fine horse gains +2 reputation per notable offspring.
Saves: For each save listed, reduce the save number by one from 15
(not 16, like human characters).
Hit Points: Horses have an allotment of hit points, just as their
riders do. When damage reduces a horse’s HP to half or less, make
a Sang Froid test for the animal. If failed, it will bolt. Horses recover
1d3 HP per day of rest.

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Example Horses
Ajax Breed, Lifepath: Limousin pack horse
GOVERNING ABILITIES MEASURES
Ability Mod. Ability Mod. Move 4+1d4 HP 14/14

Str 13 +1 Dex 12 — P&P 14 Ter 15 Ch 14 Art 15

Wis 10 — Con 9 — Def 11/10 Rep 0

MENTALITIES SKILLS
Origin 2/6 Bordeaux Pull 3/6 Cbt Sang-Froid 1/6

Loyalty 4/6 Mouston Listen 1/6 — Traverse 1/6

Patachou Breed, Lifepath: Limousin/Burgundy riding horse

GOVERNING ABILITIES MEASURES
Ability Mod. Ability Mod. Move 5+1d4 HP 7/7

Str 9 — Dex 9 — P&P 14 Ter 15 Ch 14 Art 15

Wis 10 — Con 10 — Def 7/7 Rep —

MENTALITIES SKILLS
Origin 3/6 Burgundy Pull 1/6 Cbt Sang-Froid 1/6

Loyalty 2/6 Listen 1/6 — Traverse 2/6

Le Cardinal Breed, Lifepath: Morvan/Limousin war horse

GOVERNING ABILITIES MEASURES
Ability Mod. Ability Mod. Move 4+1d6 HP 14/14

Str 14 +1 Dex 10 — P&P 15 Ter 14 Ch 15 Art 14

Wis 9 — Con 14 +1 Def 12/8 Rep 3

MENTALITIES SKILLS
Origin 1/6 Morvan Pull 2/6 Cbt Sang-Froid 3/6

Loyalty 3/6 Listen 1/6 +1 Traverse 1/6

Athene Breed, Lifepath: Andalusian/Percheron courser

GOVERNING ABILITIES MEASURES
Ability Mod. Ability Mod. Move 7+1d6 HP 8/8

Str 14 +1 Dex 16 +2 P&P 15 Ter 14 Ch 14 Art 14

Wis 13 +1 Con 9 — Def 12/14 Rep 5

MENTALITIES SKILLS
Origin 1/6 Andalusia Pull 2/6 Cbt Sang-Froid 2/6

Loyalty 2/6 Listen 2/6 +1 Traverse 4/6

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Blank Horse Record Sheet
Horse Name: Breed, Lifepath:
GOVERNING ABILITIES MEASURES
Ability Mod. Ability Mod. Move HP /

Str Dex P&P Ter Cha Art

Wis Con Def / Rep

MENTALITIES SKILLS
Origin / Pull / Cbt Sang-Froid /

Loyalty / Listen / Traverse /

Chevaux de Combat
Use this table if your horse is reduced to 0 HP in combat or from
travel-related damage.
Unwarranted, Cruel Death
2d6 Result Effect
2-4 Cut down Killed instantly, unable to make a sound.
Dies slowly bubbling blood from its mouth
5-6 Mortally wounded
for 2d4 hours. This injury is fatal.
7-8 Gutted Lingers in agony for 1d6 days before expiring.
Knocked unconscious and appears dead
9 Stunned
but they recover to 1 HP in 1d3 turns.
Cruelly injured. The beast shrieks
10 Mad with pain horribly in pain for 5d6 hours before
expiring. This injury may be treated.
The beast survives with a permanent injury:
11 Maimed Roll 1d6: 1: -2 Movement, 2: -2 Str, 3: -2 Dex,
4: -2 Traverse, 5: -1 Listen, 6: -1 Pull
The horse miraculously survives but is lamed: -1
12 Lamed
movement, -1 to all inventory carrying capacity.

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 1648: The World of Miseries & Misfortunes

Cavalry Officer
Cavalry Reqs: Charge Starting HP: 2d4 Lifepath HP: +1d3-1
Officer Saves: Artillery, terror Starting Age: 16+1d12
Commander Increase Leadership rating by one.
Courage Increase Sang-Froid rating by one. In addition, increase
Morale by one when leading from the front.
Chevalier When mounted increase to-hits by one (up to a maximum
of +5) for sabers, rapiers, cutlasses and firearms.
­Combine with your Strength or Dexterity modifier.
À La Mode Increase Fashion rating by one.
La Gloire Increase Reputation by 1d6.
Horseman Increase Rider skill rating by one.

Equipment Sabretache, hat, knee-length breeches, hose, shoes, shirt,

­justacorps and cloak. A war horse with tack and harness,
and saddlebags. A servant and groom (+2 dependents)
In addition, choose one kit:
• Chevalier: Saber, two cavalry pistols, helmet and a cuirass.
• Dragoon: Cutlass, mousqueton, cuirass and a jaunty cap.
• O fficer of Musketeers: La mousquetaire, two pistols and
a mail shirt (requires prior Musketeer lifepath).
All also start with 20 rounds of shot, powder and priming
powder in a shot bag, powder horn and powder flask.
Names Castres, Vauban, Strozzi, Albert, La Motte, La Fleur, Rambutin

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 Nouvel
Équipement
Weapons
Cavalry Pistol
A heavier implement with a longer barrel and weightier bore.
Weapon Type Short Shot TS Medium Shot TS Long Shot TS
Cavalry Pistol 10 sq 13 17 20 sq 15 19 30 sq 17 20n
Damage 1d6 Init 2nd F. Rank 1,2 Reload 2 rounds

La Mousquetaire
La Mousquetaire is a new, heavy rapier only recently invented. There
are only a handful of prototypes in service in 1648, but they become
steadily more available in the next decade until most French cavaliers
carry them. This weapon can be used while mounted.
Weapon Type Initiative Weapon Damage Fighting Rank
La Mousequetaire 11th 1d6 1

Hache
This strong light ax was adapted from a similar implement used
by the peoples of New France. It is most commonly found among
sailors, but some specimens have made their way to European soil. In
a pinch, the ax can also be thrown for 1d6 damage.
Weapon Type Initiative Weapon Damage Fighting Rank
Hache 16th 1d6+1 1

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